If it weren't for Cara and the staff at Buddy's Chance, I'd likely never leave town without my 70 pound dog in tow (meaning I'd definitely never fly). If it weren't for Buddy's Chance, said dog would likely still be jumping on everyone, undoubtedly not crate-trained, and a general nemesis to the public. It's not that I didn't try to remedy my pups problems on my own, really I did, it's more that I was totally ignorant and naive about all things related to raising a puppy.
My first experience with Buddy's Chance was 2 years ago, when an impromptu trip popped up that required me to fly across country without my dog. The whole notion of "boarding" my new dog seemed cruel and unfathomable. Yes, I'm one of those people. After searching endlessly, reading reviews, and reading between the lines of every little policy each dog boarding/training place in Austin had, I finally got the gumption to call and speak with Cara. She was very friendly, understanding, and willing to work with me (my dog has a pronounced hearing/seeing problem, i.e. special needs). In the end, we decided a 2 week board and train would be best. Initially I wasn't all that concerned about "training" her, I just thought if I threw in the training part, she'd get more attention, and I'd feel less guilty about leaving her in "boarding". Wow! What a huge difference this made in her behavior when I returned from my trip! In addition to getting updates on her status whenever I felt the need to call and check on her, the staff at Buddy's Chance was willing to go along with all of my silly requests, such as brushing her teeth EVERY SINGLE day and turning her personal fan on when she was crated. The fact that when I came back from my trip, she was well-trained, and well-behaved, was the butter cream icing on my cake. When I got back from my trip, Cara herself brought her to my house and did an in home training session, to help me integrate what she'd learned while boarded into our daily life. Cara also gave me lesson plans with the tasks and repetitions we needed to do to keep my doggy up to snuff on what she'd learned while I was gone.
All in all the "customer service" from this whole experience, (calling Cara with small questions, her willingness to take the time to explain in detail answers to my questions, getting updates on my dogs day, was superb). I had so much anxiety in the first place about boarding her anywhere, and now I feel completely comfortable taking her to Buddy's Chance. And, I know she loves it, because she can't get in the door fast enough whenever we arrive there.
I've had numerous other wonderful experiences with Cara and Buddy's Chance, but I'll try to keep it short. I fostered two special needs puppies, both deaf and blind, last year, and during that foster period I took them both to Buddy's Chance for the free puppy training classes, which were very useful, did I mention free?, and gave the obviously disadvantaged puppies a leg up in getting adopted (which they happily now are, both in their respective forever homes).
The most recent great experience (for me at least), was the last time I boarded my resident dog. I had a family trip out of state, which my dog could not attend. The flight home was delayed, so we missed the window of time to pick our pooch up. Somewhere in the mix, after hours, my dog had what I can only assume was a canine panic attack - there was a thunderstorm earlier in the day that may have scared her, that's all I can attribute it to. She freaked out in her crate and scratched up her snout trying to escape her kennel. Cara saw her on camera from her home, and drove to Buddy's Chance to try and calm her down (she was happy as a lark as soon as she got out of her crate). Long story short, I ended up picking her up from BC post 10 p.m., where Cara kindly waited for me to arrive. Had the cameras not been in place, and if Cara had not been so awesome as to check up on the dogs way past office hours from her home, it would have been a bad night for my sweet girl. I absolutely love Buddy's Chance and trust Cara and the staff wholeheartedly with boarding and every thing else dog related. To this day, we still use the commands and training she learned while in board and train 2 years ago. I was totally ignorant about crate training before the board and train, and I'm now an ardent believer in it. (It sure sped up the whole house training, eating electronics while I was away bit). Love, love LOVE this place, and I'm so glad I found it! Also on the list of awesomeness, Buddy's Chance doesn't charge a fee during boarding to feed your own dog food, or dispense meds, which is great for me, because my dog is always on special food and meds for her various health problems. Again, I love Buddy's Chance! read more